Drop-hammer.



E. C. HAMILTON.

DROP HAMMER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 6. 1914.

1,171,71 8. Patented Feb. 15, 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET L witnesses nu: COLUMBIA FLANOGRAPH co., wAsHiNGTON, D. c.

E. C(HAMILTON.

DROP HAMMER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 6. 1914.

1,171,718. Patented Feb. 15,1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2- 201172 e as 66 Inventor.

31 SW w.

THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH 520-, \VKSHINGTON. D. c.

E. C, HAMILTON.

DROP HAMMER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 6. I914.

Patented Feb. 15,1916.

4 SHEETSSHEET 3- I l l l Inventor. C, m 72' I f K 5 l sis E. C. HAMILTON.

DROP HAMMER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 6 1914.

1 1 7 1 7 1 8 Patented Feb. 15, 1916.

4- SHEETS-SHEET 4- 10717188865 Jkventor.

THE COLUMBIA PLANUGRAPH 60.. WASHINGTON. D. c.

EDWIN o. HAMILTON,:QF SOMEBNILLE, MAssAoHnsErrs;essrsnonfro stanza.

DAVISON, or WINTER-03, MASSACHUSETTSI iston-HAMMER.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

.Be it known that I, EDWIN .C. HA-MILTON, a citizen of the United States, andresident of Somerville, in the county of --Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements ;'in Drop-Hammers, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates tomaehines of the drop hammer or drop press :type ,in

which a weight is withdrawn by POWGI'zfTQIH an anvil and is thereafter released from the actuatin g 'means and allowed .or {caused to approach the anvil by. the force of gravity, or of a spring, orboth.

The invention is particularly concerned with means for preventing aseeond blow of the hammer after the :inevitablevrebound thereof upon the first stroke, 1and--withan diiierent dimensions for enabling'aszgreat a stroke to be given the hammer as may be required without making any part of the mechanism objectionably bulky. The manner in which I have accomplished theseobjects is fully set fortlriu the accompanying specification. Y

- In the drawings forming a :part of'. the specification, Figure 1 is aside'elevation' of so much of a drop hammer in which :I have embodied my invention as is necessary to illustrate that part of the'invention :which resides in the hammer actuating mechanism; Fi g. 2 is a front-elevation of so mnch of the hammer as is illustrated in Fig. 1. Fig. "3 is a frontielevation on an enlarged scale of. av part of the hammer, and of the vmeans which forms a part of the invention forssecuring thehanimer on the rebound andpreventing a second stroke thereof. Fig. his an elevation of the rebound'catcher atithe left hand side of "the hammer, :s'howingfthe 'taken-onlines 55 "-QfiF-ig-B- V H1 6 samezrefe'reneei characters indicate 1 the same parts-inallzthe figures. 7

.same a and the associated parts in a .1 different position zfromithat shown in :Fig. 3. {Figs 5 and/6 areihorizontalsectional detail \views 7 and 6-.-6, respectively, 1

Referring .to Figs. 1 and 2 for :an-iillusmechanism for elevating the hammer, the

base (of :the machine iis :represented at .10. Such :base, of .which i only -;the upper ;part is .wshownlin thedraw-ings, mayibeof any de- .sired; construction, and it supports an ;anvil 11, which latter is centered by screws 12, 12 .13; V13 contained ;in ruprights 114, 1,14 and 515 15 .-res pectively, .and so arranged as to engagerthe four sides of-theanvil. The base (10 supports iframe consisting ,o'f two 1119-,

rights ,-16, 16 and a .-transverse beam '17 *at the top. JSaid uprights "constitute :gu-ide- .ways rand ;guide the hammer weight or weighted hammer :18 which ;has ribs 519 I shown .in -Eigs. 5 and 6,;at6achside-c0n- .tained {in the longitudinal guide grooves of :the ;guide;barsor ways 216, 1-6. The=hammer head, or hammer pr per, -20 is mountedin the %lower end of :the weight '18,; as shown-in Fig. 2 {and ,projects therefrom toward the anvil. "The "weight- 18 and hammer head A 20,

together constituteithe -hammer,-but for con 'venience ofdescription I prefer to apply "Specification of'Letters'i Patent. Pat f -a91 trationof-the machineiasa wholeand ofthedistinguishing terms to these two elements.

The ;mechanism for :lifting-fthe hammer comprises a slide 21, which I may term .for convenience of descr ption, a hammer lifter which travels between the ibars 16, 16 in guideways 22 th'ereof ibehind :.and parallel to the gu'ideways :in which the hammer weight l8ftravels as showniin Fig. .1. Said hammer lifter :ishung-by a cable23,*which passes around and is secured-to afdrum .2 1.

:Said drum ,is secured I on a shaft 25 mounted in bearings "26 r on brackets 27, whichia re rack bars pass between the pinions,'with which, they respectively engage, and the guide .rolls 30 ;.mounted "on studs which are carried by.l1ugs'.13;-1. I llhe {two rack ,bars are connected together :at their lowerends and are secured toared32 which'lhas-la conneepin 34. Crank disk 33 is mounted on a shaft 35 whereon there rotates loosely a gear wheel 36 driven by a pinion 37 on a shaft 38 to which is also connected a pulley 39. A clutch 40 and a clutch operating lever 41 are provided for connecting the gear wheel 36 to the shaft 35 wherever it is desired to operate the machine. Any suitable clutch and clutch operating mechanism may be used for this purpose, but I prefer-one of the type which is automatically disconnected upon the completion of one rotation of the gear 36 and shaft 35 after being con nected.

It will be understood that the rotation of the crank disk 33 causes the racks 29 to be raised and lowered, thereby rotatingthe' cable drum 24 first in one direction and then in the opposite direction, raising and lowering the hammer lifter 21. The mechanism just described constitutes the hammer lifting mechanismand-is one of the features of my present invention. Said'mechanism is simple and positive and may be proportioned to give any desired lift to the hammer without being made objectionably bulky, and particularly without requiring the crank which operates the racks to be made unduly long. The pinion 28 and drum 24 may be readily removed to permit substitution of another group of similarly arranged elements of greater or smaller diameter, or for substitution of other pinions only. It is evident that by thus replacing either the pinions 28 or the drum 24, or both, by other pinions and another drum of greater or smaller-diameter, the extent of travel of the hammer lifter can be altered without changing the stroke of the racks. An important feature is this, that the operating mechanism provides a means by which.

as great a lift as may be required may begiven to the hammer without making the crank disk 33 or the length of the crank arm bodied in the present machine involves a 7 dog 42 pivoted to the lifter 21 and thrown outwardly by spring 43, so arranged as to cause the dog to pass under a shoulder 44 in the rear of the-hammer weight 18 when the slide is lowered. A pin 45 passes through the hammer weight from front to rear and is beveled or tapered at its front end. 46. It lies just below the shoulder A lever 47 is pivoted to the front side of the hammer weight at 48 and passes above the beveled end of the pin 45. Said lever has an arm 49 extending across one of the upright bars 16 in position to strike a stop 50, which pro ects forwardly from said bar, when the hammer 1s raised. Sto 50 man be )laced in any one of a number of holes 51. lVhen 1' the lifter21, after having been coupled Ito the hammer, is raised, it raises the hammer until the arm 49 strikes the stop. 50, when the lever 47 is arrested. The relative move-' ment between the lever and the hammer due to the continuing rise of the latter, causes the lever to wipe across the beveled end of the pin 45 and to force said pin rearwardly against the dog 42, pushing the dog out of engagement with the shoulder 44 and leaving the hammer unsupported, whereupon the hammer drops. By placing the stop 50; in different positions, the hammermay be given a longer or shorter extent of upward travel before being released, and thus the force of the blows which it delivers may be regulated. It is to be noted that the length of the hammer stroke may thus be altered without requiring any change in t-he'extent of travel given tothehammerlifter.-

A spring 52 is provided for applying pressure to the hammer and adding to the effect of gravity. The form of spring here shown is a helical spring'of which the lower end. embraces a stud 53 on the hammer weight, and the upper portion passes through an opening in the bar 17 and is contained in a housing 54, which is secured to the upper side of the said. bar. The spring TS'COIH? pressed whenever thehammeris raised and when the hammer isreleased its force 'isapplied to actuateithe hammer. The employment of the spring makes it unneces sary to provide for so great a drop in order to secure a blow of given force as would be the case if the spring were not present, and the spring makes the action of the hammer more rapid than would otherwise be the case.

A hammer of the sort described, unavoidably rebounds after striking the work on the anvil, and it is necessary to provide means for arresting the hammer on the rebound to avoid an objectionable second blow. I have provided an improved means for catching the hammer on the rebound, which constitutes another portion of my invention.-

The description of this means for catching the hammer, or rebound catcher, follows:

Secured to the hammer weight at the for-.

ward side near the edges thereof are toothed bars 55 which preferably project somewhat. over the adjacent upright guide bar-s16. These toothed bars have teeth 56, the under sides of which are approximately horizontal and the upper sides of which are downwardly inclined. Such teeth'are thus similarto ratchet teeth,v wherefore for the pun poses of this description I will designate the bars 55, ratchet bars and the teeth 56 ratchet teeth. Co-acting with each of. said ratchet bars is a complemental clutch block 57 hav ing upwardly inclined teeth 58 of such size and spacing as to be capable of interlocking with any of the teeth The clutchblocks and the mechanisms for operating them which I have provided at each side of the machine are duplicates of one another and a description of one will suffic'e for both.

wise to limit the said guide in respect either .to its form, direction, or location.

clutch block carries a pin '60- which projects through a slot 61 in the transverse guide. 59

and enters a slot 62 in a lever 63 which is pivoted by a stud 64 to theupright guide 16.

Said lever 63 is provided with a' forwardly projecting rib 65 having an inclined cam surface 66 at its lower end, and a surface 67 ontheside toward the hammer. The said surfaces 66 and 67 meet at an edge which is sufficiently fine for my purposes. Fixed to the hammer weight above the ratchet bar '55 is a bracket 68 which projects across the guide bar 16 and the lever'63l In the bracket. 68 is a transversely movable rod or slide 69 located in frontof the rib 65 and carrying a stud 70 which projects toward the upright guide bar 16 sufficiently far to engage the rib 65. Stud 70' is preferably formed with its opposite faces inclined, and beveled or rounded, the inclination of such faces being downward and inward, and the opposite faces meeting in sutficiently fine edges. A. spring 71 is attached at one end to a pin 72 which is connected to the slide 69, and at its other end to a pin 73 attached to the bracket 68. The spring tends to draw slide 69 toward the center line of the machine. Themovement of the slide in this direction is .limited by shoulder 74 on the slide and a complemental shoulder 7 5 on the bracket. V r

A leaf spring 7 6 is mounted in a pin 77 and engages the end of the lever .63, being arranged, and operating, to place said lever in the position shown in Fig. 4:, when the lever is otherwise free and unobstructed.

after-striking the anvil, the stud rides up on The Thus the stud pushesthe lever 63 vandthe clutch block 57 outwardly, and provides a clear'path without obstructions for the descent of the hammer. As soonas the stuc :70 has passed the lower endfof rib 65, the

spring 76 returns the lever to normal posi-. tion, inz'which the lower end of the cam surface 66 is above and somewhat to the right of'the upper edge ofthe stud, as shown by the dotted line position 70 in Fig. 4. That is, the lower end of the beveled surface is nearer the center line of the machine than is the uppermost edge of the stud. In consequence when the hammer rebounds the inclined surface 66, throwing the lever 63 and clutch block 57 toward the ratchet bar 55. The teeth of the bar then slip past the teeth of the block, the spring 71 yielding sufliciently to permit this, and at the ward the ratchet bar,- sothat as soon 38 the momentum of the hammer s exhausted and it starts to fall, the teeth of 55 and 57 will 1 interengage and prevent it from falling.

same time constantly pressing the block to- The dimensions of the parts, including the t length of the ratchet bar and of the rib are preferably such that the momentum of the greatest rebound will become exhausted before the stud passes beyond the upper end of the rib 65, and before the ratchet bar passes entirely beyond the upper end of the clutchblock 5 7. j 7 V As a result of there being a large number of teeth onjthe ratchet bar andclutchbar, it follows that under all conditions, except the extreme one, which is not expected to happen in practice, when the hammer passes entirely beyond the clutch block on the re bound, several of the complemental teeth on the ratchet and clutch willbeeome intere'n gaged at the s ame time, thereby holdingthe hammer With security. It follows also that, after reaching the limit of rebound, the

hammer can not fall more than the distance of one tooth spacebeforebeing caught, so

that it is arrested after the rebound practicallyfwithout shock. These circumstances together make it impossible for the teeth to be stripped. I. l

The mechanism above described for "ar resting thehammer on the vrebound is positive and certain in operation, and free from 1 liability toaccident'. ion the descent. of the" hammer when making a stroke, the stud 70 1S rigidly held byjthe shoulders 74 and'75 clutch block out of the path of the ratchet bar, whereby interference between the ratchet and clutch is made absolutely im-' f possible.

so that it must cause displacement of the.

which is free to act as soon asthe hammer endsits stroke, and to the engagement which is thereby unavoidable between the stud and the cam surface 66. Thereby the clutch block is certainly and surely put into position for engaging the ratchet teeth, but not into such rigid engagement as to prevent on the rebound and preventing the hammer from making a second blow, but so far as I amaware none of such devices has contained a means for positively preventing operation otthe rebound catcher during the strllnng travel of the hammer, nor has contained.

mechanism which is certain to work under all circumstances for bringing the arresting device and the mechanism into operativecondition at the proper time.

I desire to state that I do not limit the invention t0 the precise details ot'construction, arrangement, and operation hereinbetore described, as wide variations in. such features may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

The terms denoting'verticality and horizontality used in this specification and those denoting relative heights and directions are not intended as limiting terms, but are used solely as descriptive terms with respect to the embodiment of the invention here illustrated.

VJhat I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: r

1. In a drop hammer the combination with a hammer and means for guiding the same, of complemental ratchet and clutch elements connected with the hammer and guide respectively, and POSltlVB meanslconnected to the hammer and the clutch elementrespectively, arranged tocome into engagement with one another during the working stroke of the hammer for holding said ratchet and clutch elements out of connection during such stroke said means being operative for bringing said elements into cos operationon the rebound of the hammer.

2. In a drop hammer the combination with a guiding element and a hammer arranged to travel along said element, a ratchet v travel upon a hammer .and aguiding element, of a ratchet carried by the hammer, a clutch block mountedon the guiding element,: a cam device connected with the clutch element, and a clutchactuator carried by the hammer and arranged to act upon said cam device to a hold the clutch element away fr m the ratchet during the working stroke and to hold the clutch element a ainst the ratchet in the subsequent rebound of the hammer.

4; In adrop hammer the combination oi a frame and a hammer element arranged to said 3 frame, ratchet and clutch elements, one of which is mounted on the hammer and the other o1v which ismounted on the frame, and one of which is further movable toward and away from the other, a cam member connected complemental' with said movable element, and an actuator operated by the relative movement between the hammer and frame for engaging of the hammer, said actuator beingconstructed-and actuated Lto cause a: positive separation between the ratchet and clutch elements throughout the travel of one element past the other, and to engage the other said cam member onone side during the descent side of said cam member yieldingly'on the rebound of the hammer, so as to bring said elements into engagement.

5. Inamachine of the character described,

the combination of a stationary guide and a 'ried by the hammer and the other being.

mounted on the guide, and one of said ele ments being movable toward and awa from the other, and means operated by the'movement of the hammer for holding said Ieles ments apart with a positive action during the working stroke of the hammer and for,

bringing said elementsinto engagement in a yielding manner upon the rebound of the hammer.

6. In a drop hammer the combination otya hammer member, a guide therefor, a ratchet.

block, a complemental clutch block movable transversely to the movement of the ratchet v block, one of said blocks being carried by the hammer and the other mounted on the guide, a cam connected-with said clutchblock and having cam'surfaces at opposite sides and a clutch actuator movable with the hammer member and arranged to engage the surface at one side of said: cam when moving in one direction and engage the surface at the opposite side of the cam when moving in the opposite direction, 'wherebv the clutch block is first positively moved away from the ratchet Y F block and is then brought into engagement with the latter.

T. In a machine of thechairacter described, the combination of a hammer, a stationary frame, com-plemental clutch members con nected to the hammer and frame respec .tirely, one of said clutch members being movable toward and away from the other, a cam connected to said movable clutch :memher and having oppositely disposed icam faces, a cam actuator operable by movement of the hammer relatively to the frame ar'- ranged to engage one of'said faces during the operative stroke of the hammer, and means for causing the actuator to engage the opposite face during the rebound of the hammer.

8. Ina drop hammer the combination of a hammer and a frame, a ratchet bar carried by the hammer, a clutch block mounted on the frame and guided to move toward and away from said ratchet bar, a cam rib movable in approximately the same directions as said block and connected. therewith, an actuator'carried by said hammer arranged to engage one side of said rib during the working stroke of the hammer, andmeans for shifting said block at the end of said stroke,

whereby said actuator is causedto engage the opposite side of the rib on the rebound of the hammer.

' 9. In a drop hammer, the combination with a hammer and a frame on which-the" hammer is guided, of a ratchet bar having a plurality of teeth carried by the hammer, a complemental clutch block having a plurality of teeth, mounted on the frame, means for preventing in a positive manner engagement'of said ratchet bar teeth with clutch block teeth during a working stroke of the hammer, and means for resiliently holding the ratchet bar and clutch block in engage ment during the rebound of the hammer, whereby the hammer is arrested at any point to which it may rebound and is prevented from moving appreciably after the rebound 10. In a drop hammer, a hammer member, means for guiding the same in a predetermined path, cooperating ratchet and clutch elements, one of said elements being carried by the hammer member and the other being mounted on the guiding means and being movable transversely of the direction in which the hammer member travels, said elements having teeth adapted to interengage upon rebound of the hammer member after a blow, a cam associated with the transversely movableclutch element, and a cam actuator carried bv the hammer member, said cam actuator being movable transversely of the hammer travel and being yieldingly urged in one direction, and having a positive abutment to limit its move ment in that direction, the said actuator when in the position thus limited being arthe ,yiel. mg means tbenkactin'g tourge the clutch element-yieldingly toward the ratchet element. I r v I -i 7 11. In; a drop hammer, the combination with a hammer a-memher and Ineans for guiding the samein a definite path, a :stop carried ,by said member, a complemental clutch :mounted on the guiding means movable into and out ofengagement with said stoppand actuating-means carried by the hammerlfor ,controllingisaid clutch, said actuating means being constructed to vhold the clutchawayfrom the stop on the work? ing stroke of the hammer and ,havingpa rigid abutment for causing. positive action thereto, and yielding: means tending to hold said actuator against the st'op. but permitdisplaceinent away frornthe stop, whereby said actuator may act yieldingly .onthe rebound of the hammer to urge the clutchztoward the :stop.

, 12': In combinationuwithi'a drophammer and means for guiding. the same, i said ham: mer and guiding means having interengagefor controlling the one of said elements which is mounted on the guiding means and is movable toward and away from the able clutchingeleinehts for' arresting the ;;hammer on the rebound thereof, a means path of the other of said elements, said controlling means comprising a cam engaged with said movable element and hav-. ing opposite faces converging to a point at its lower end, an actuator carried by the hammer and movable transversely with respect thereto, a spring acting on said 210- tuator in the direction from the transversely movable to the hammer-carried-clutch element, and a positive abutment for limiting the movement of said actuator in said direc tion, the said actuator being so limited in the position wherein it is caused during the working stroke of the hammer to engage said cam on the side thereof towardv which the transversely movable clutch ele ment must be moved for operation, whereby tohold said clutch element out of operative I position.

13. In a drop hammer in combination with a hammer member and a guide therefor, a clutch element carried by the hammer, a complemental clutch element carried by the guide, one of said elements being movable transversely to the direction of movement of the hammer, a cam connected to said transverselv movable element and an actuator carried by the hammer and adapted to engage said cam, said actuator being positively controlled to hold the transversely movable clutch away from the complemental clutch element during the driving stroke of the hammer, and being yieldingly urged to press the transversely movable clutch :toward the complemental clutch upon the rebound of the hammer.

15%. In a drop hammer the combination with a hammer member and a hammer lifter of a cable by whichsaid lifter is hung, a drum on which said cable is wound, a gear Wheel connected with said drum, a rack meshing with said gear wheel, and a crank and connecting rod connected with said rack, whereby the latter is given a reciprocating movement.

15. In a drop hammer, a hammer lifting mechanism comprising a rotary driving element, a cable drum, a hammer lifting cable depending from said drum and secured thereto, and intermediate mechanism for imparting an oscillativemovement to said drum. from the continuous rotation of the driving element.

16. A hammer lifting mechanism comprising a rotary driver, a crank pin carried by said driver,-a cable drum, transmission mechanism between said crank pin and cable drum constructed'to give an oscillating movement to the latter, and a hammer lifting cable attached to and depending" from said drum.

17. A drop hammer comprising in combination a frame, a hammer guided for movement upon said frame, a hammer 11ft ing cable, a drum'to which said cable is attached and about which it is wrapped a. pinion having a smaller diameter than said cable, a rotary driver having a crankpin, a connecting. rod engaged with said crank pin, and a rack rigid with said con-- necting rod and meshing with said pinion.

18. In a drop hammer, the combination of a rotary driving crank, a cable drum, a connection from said crank to said cable drum for permitting oscillating movement to the latter, a cable connected to said drum,

a hammer, means, for coupling said hammer to said cable, means for causing automatic disconnection of the hammer from the cable during the rising movement of the hammer, and mechanism for arresting the hammer at the conclusion of its rebound after male ing the working stroke;

In testimony whereof'I have affixed my Copies of this patent may "be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C. 

